In this blog you will learn about how to create Geographical Maps in Tableau.
Introduction to Maps in Tableau
The Tableau has ability to generate geographic visualizations through the use of maps is a significant benefit for users who are working with data that is based on different locations.
The interpretation of data with spatial context is facilitated by geographic visualizations. Maps offer a method for observing the geographical distribution of data, which can be done for a variety of purposes, including sales performance by region, consumer demographics, and logistics networks. It is much simpler to recognize patterns, outliers, and correlations that might be concealed in tabular data thanks to their presence.
Use Case of Maps in Tableau
- Sale by location: Understanding which regions are performing well.
- Population distribution: Observing where customer clusters are situated.
- Market segmentation: Analyzing market based on geographical proximity.
- Logistic and supply chain: Mapping delivery routes, warehouse locations, etc.
Types of Maps in Tableau
- Symbol Maps: Display data points as symbols on the map, with the size and color of the symbols representing different data values.
- Filled Maps: Use color to indicate data associated with areas (e.g., country, state).
- Density Maps: Show the density of data points, which is useful for observing data concentration (e.g., customer density in urban areas).
- Path Maps: Useful for showing a route or path, such as a flight path or delivery route.
Key Components of Tableau Maps
- Geocoding: Tableau uses built-in geocoding to automatically identify geographic areas such as country, state, city, zip code, etc. It provides latitude and longitude values to plot these areas on the map.
- Map Layers: You can overlay multiple layers on a map to show different aspects of data (e.g., sales by city on one layer and warehouse locations on another layer).
- Map Styles: Tableau provides different map styles (e.g., dark, light, streets) to enhance the look and feel of maps.
- Map Controls: Users can interact with maps by zooming, panning, and selecting areas to drill down into the data.
Dataset description
The data set has information about sales of products with six attributes: Category, Product, Quantity, Unit Price, Total Price, and Profit. This gives information about how well different things are doing and how profitable they are. You can download the dataset from here.
Steps to create geographical visual
Step 1: Open Tableau
Step 2: Click on Text file to connect with Tableau
Step 3: Browse csv file (or other file format as your need) and click on Open
Step 4: Click on Sheet 1 (Worksheet) to make visual
Step 5: Drag-n-Drop City to Rows and Sales to Columns
Step 6: Select symbol maps from Show Me card
Step 7: Click on detail icon (in left of City) and select Color
Step 8: Drag-n-drop Sales over Label in Marks card
About above Visual
- Color dot/circle showing different city from data
- Label showing sales in different city
Conclusion
When it comes to comprehending and interpreting location-based data, the geographic visualizations that are available in Tableau maps are extremely useful tools. It is possible for users to acquire a better understanding of geographical trends, market segmentation, and client distribution by making use of symbol maps, filled maps, and dual-axis maps. Tableau is an indispensable tool for any data analyst who works with geographic data simply because of how simple it is to create maps that are both dynamic and interesting.
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